05 November 2015

Voting Tips

It occurred to me as I worked one of my LONG days on Tuesday that I have several tips you may be able to use!

I'm an Election Inspector. That means I work at the polls, for the township (in my case) that runs the election.

A lot of people assume we are volunteers, which brings me to my first tip: This may be a paid position in your locality! Or to go one better, there may not be a residency requirement, so it may be a paid position in a locality near you. In my particular case, I do not work where I am registered to vote, as my parents watch my children during this long day of work. Since I am 'at the office' from 6AM until at least 8PM (and then closing up after that), I drop my kids off at my parents' house and work in their area instead. It also happens to pay better than my local area.

I'll reserve the rest of my tips for a more general audience - voters! That should include you! ;)

Please bring your ID. Yeah, I get it. You can still vote without it, but it causes us extra paperwork. Be nice. In many precincts, the worker (or you) can now scan your license to pull up your voter registration in a computer. I could tell you about 'back in my day,' when we had to find your info on our greenbar printout and highlight it. For real. I've been working elections for 25 years now. LOL

If you're not sure where you're supposed to vote, contact your local government office (in my case, the township) before the election. It can save you a lot of frustration to go to the right place the first time on election day, especially if there's a line. If you choose to go to a polling place without checking, or just insisting that it's where you always vote, you are not making any friends. Seriously. We have the list. We don't send you somewhere else just for fun.

My last quick, and BEST, tip - check the requirements in your area regarding voting absentee. Both where I live and where I work, one reason to vote absentee is, "I expect to be absent from the area where I'm supposed to vote on election day." Yes, EXPECT. So you can go get a ballot, complete it, and turn it some other time than election day either in person, or by mail. In the areas I'm familiar with, senior citizens can get on a list to automatically get their ballot sent absentee.
If you don't like 'going' to vote, start voting absentee. Your ballot is processed exactly the same way, but you can vote at your convenience, and even research using your computer WHILE you vote!

Voting is something not everyone in the world gets to do. Please appreciate that right, respect the process, and let your voice be heard.